A Moment Lost
We were recently sent through a copy of So Hold Your Breath from Kendal based A Moment Lost. Saying that they provide an energised, body moving, heart pumping and heavy as hell metal show, these guys have been working since 2010 to form and hone their sound, gaining support slots with the likes of Cancer Bats and Forever Never as well as signing to Brutal Elite Records. As such, when given the chance to hear the record before its release on the 16th of July, I figured I’d better check things out!
Opening with title track So Hold Your Breath there’s an immediate smash in the face from some hammering guitar lines, rolling drums and roaring vocal lines. Heavy and aggressive from the off, the band somehow manage to also incorporate a massive sense of melody into the music, keeping the sense of music firmly at the forefront of things yet letting you know they’re not messing about or going soft. Add in some breakdowns of epic proportions and you’re onto a winner from the word go here, a great opening to an album.
Moving into Waves (which coincidentally opens with wave sounds) the theme of powerful, hard hitting rock continues, this time a powerful riff leading the way over the solid rhythm section which backs everything up. Once again making sure they incorporate every element you could possibly want from a metal track into one melee of aggression, this track seems to raise the bar even further and show that these guys seriously understand how to write a solid metal track and do it well. As if to demonstrate this further, No One Else To Blame soon comes up and shows off the bands soft and melodic side, opening with a soft guitar line which only serves to accentuate further the heavy guitar work which follows on. Once again keeping a sense of melody at the forefront of the track, this is another track which is sure to destroy on the live scene, solidifying this album as one which you need to make sure you check out.
Skies Turn Red follows much the same conventions, leading into the softer opening moments of Actions (Consequences) which again, moves into hard hitting aggressive power before you know it and then on to Escape Your Mistakes, but it’s when Our Digital Heartbeat comes around that the band once again demonstrate their versatility. Forming a track which harks towards the likes of Dark Tranquility this time and throwing in a chorus which is anthemic in the truest sense of the word, this track stands out as a serious high point on the album and is one which I would rank amongst my own personal favourites. The soaring melodic sections of this track testify to anyone who has ever doubted it that metal isn’t just noise, it’s carefully crafted elements which work together in an almost orchestral fashion resulting in a track which does what good music should, evokes an emotional reaction to things. Following on with the all out power of Colours you’re once again returned to the bands pit of all out devastation, once again reminding you that this isn’t music for a soft and relaxing afternoon.
The Beginning Of The End continues the all out power theme towards the closing of the album, once again presenting you with one simple option, join in with the power of the band or regret it. Powerful and melodic once again, there’s something ‘off-piste’ about this track which somehow makes it work, crafting this into another moment which is going to work on the live scene to get crowds whipped into a frenzy. Closing with We Left No Survivors there’s never been a truer statement, closing with an all out assault to leave you a quivering wreck in the corner of the room. Almost saving their most powerful until the end, this final track acts as a point which leaves you wanting more, leaving you wanting to go back through the entire album again to make sure you fully appreciated everything that you heard.
A Moment Lost are one hell of a band, taking a sound which many would dismiss as being too heavy and turning it into something which will appeal to all that hear it. Sure it’s a heavy album, but the melodies and moments of sheer musical genius break this up to leave you with an album which will sit happily alongside its peers. Highly recommended.
To find out more about A Moment Lost, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls
Opening with title track So Hold Your Breath there’s an immediate smash in the face from some hammering guitar lines, rolling drums and roaring vocal lines. Heavy and aggressive from the off, the band somehow manage to also incorporate a massive sense of melody into the music, keeping the sense of music firmly at the forefront of things yet letting you know they’re not messing about or going soft. Add in some breakdowns of epic proportions and you’re onto a winner from the word go here, a great opening to an album.
Moving into Waves (which coincidentally opens with wave sounds) the theme of powerful, hard hitting rock continues, this time a powerful riff leading the way over the solid rhythm section which backs everything up. Once again making sure they incorporate every element you could possibly want from a metal track into one melee of aggression, this track seems to raise the bar even further and show that these guys seriously understand how to write a solid metal track and do it well. As if to demonstrate this further, No One Else To Blame soon comes up and shows off the bands soft and melodic side, opening with a soft guitar line which only serves to accentuate further the heavy guitar work which follows on. Once again keeping a sense of melody at the forefront of the track, this is another track which is sure to destroy on the live scene, solidifying this album as one which you need to make sure you check out.
Skies Turn Red follows much the same conventions, leading into the softer opening moments of Actions (Consequences) which again, moves into hard hitting aggressive power before you know it and then on to Escape Your Mistakes, but it’s when Our Digital Heartbeat comes around that the band once again demonstrate their versatility. Forming a track which harks towards the likes of Dark Tranquility this time and throwing in a chorus which is anthemic in the truest sense of the word, this track stands out as a serious high point on the album and is one which I would rank amongst my own personal favourites. The soaring melodic sections of this track testify to anyone who has ever doubted it that metal isn’t just noise, it’s carefully crafted elements which work together in an almost orchestral fashion resulting in a track which does what good music should, evokes an emotional reaction to things. Following on with the all out power of Colours you’re once again returned to the bands pit of all out devastation, once again reminding you that this isn’t music for a soft and relaxing afternoon.
The Beginning Of The End continues the all out power theme towards the closing of the album, once again presenting you with one simple option, join in with the power of the band or regret it. Powerful and melodic once again, there’s something ‘off-piste’ about this track which somehow makes it work, crafting this into another moment which is going to work on the live scene to get crowds whipped into a frenzy. Closing with We Left No Survivors there’s never been a truer statement, closing with an all out assault to leave you a quivering wreck in the corner of the room. Almost saving their most powerful until the end, this final track acts as a point which leaves you wanting more, leaving you wanting to go back through the entire album again to make sure you fully appreciated everything that you heard.
A Moment Lost are one hell of a band, taking a sound which many would dismiss as being too heavy and turning it into something which will appeal to all that hear it. Sure it’s a heavy album, but the melodies and moments of sheer musical genius break this up to leave you with an album which will sit happily alongside its peers. Highly recommended.
To find out more about A Moment Lost, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls